Public spending watchdog: ‘Desk-based DfE officials do not understand the budget pressures faced by schools’

The TES reports that Commons public accounts committee warns the government needs to speak to schools about the savings they can realistically make.

The Department for Education “does not seem to understand the budget pressures facing schools”, despite demanding that they save £3 billion, according to MPs.

Schools have already been making savings, the report says, and the DfE does not appear to have any plan to monitor how schools will make additional savings, or what the impact will be on children’s education.

The committee warns that schools spend half of their budgets on classroom teachers and reducing costs is likely to lead to bigger classes, a heavier reliance on unqualified staff and more teachers teaching outside their specialism. Headteachers and other senior staff will also be required to do more teaching, it adds

The report says: “We are concerned that the department has not spoken enough to schools to understand what savings they can realistically make.”

Committee chair Meg Hillier said today: “Pupils’ futures are at risk if the DfE fails to act on the warnings in our report.

Childrens education is something schools should not have to save on. Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter ~ Mercedes

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Comments

Why do so many reports focus by n secondary schools ‘teaching outside specialisms’ ‘reducing the curriculum’. Primary schools are facing staff redundancies, not replacing support staff, larger class sizes and the remaining staff trying their best to keep up the high standards they expect of themselves and their children with ever reducing resources. It simply isn’t sustainable whilst also maintaining a healthy workforce.